Westlake tires

[PSFORD99]

Originally Posted by CalandLinda

All steel tires have steel casings, meaning the carcass is built with steel cords vice polyester cords.

Read the material information on the tire sidewall to verify it's construction.

Lionshead is the OEM provider for Westlake tires. The information on the tire sidewall should match the information on their ST tire web site.

I believe you are misinformed " All Steel Radial " is stamped on the sidewall of those Westlakes .In your first post you said the tire in question is not steel cased ,that appears not true .Unless steel cased is something different then what you are referring too .

[PSFORD99]

I also misspoke on these Westlakes they were not 235/85/16's, they are 235/80/16's 4080 lb rating @ 110 psi. Same as the Sailun 235/80/16. For some reason when told about them I thought they were 85's. Never the less the 235/85/16 Sailuns are going on the fifth wheel

[pkbridges77]

PSFORD99, this forum taught me to pay close attention to tires. Our 2015 SOB came with Westlake Gs manufactured 8/14 and there were very few reviews. I took my chances, and got 25,000 before developing tiny sidewall cracking in summer 2017, so 3 years.

Since then, I have lost track in our owners forum of the number of Westlake failures. 2-3 years regardless of mileage seems to be the lifespan.

The company (also under Keystone now) changed to Westlake Hs two years ago, and now those are failing. They are no where close to the quality of a Sailun.

Typical failure is either a sudden blowout or tread loss, usually with accompanied siding damage. TPMS does no good because the failure is immediate without warning.

And read through those 5-star reviews on E-trailer. Most have to do with the quick service and price of E trailer. Only a few talk about any longevity of the tire.

Westlakes, and their new rebranded Goodrides, are ticking time bombs just like the old Marathons. You might be one of the few lucky ones.

[PSFORD99]

Originally Posted by pkbridges77

PSFORD99, this forum taught me to pay close attention to tires. Our 2015 SOB came with Westlake Gs manufactured 8/14 and there were very few reviews. I took my chances, and got 25,000 before developing tiny sidewall cracking in summer 2017, so 3 years.

Since then, I have lost track in our owners forum of the number of Westlake failures. 2-3 years regardless of mileage seems to be the lifespan.

The company (also under Keystone now) changed to Westlake Hs two years ago, and now those are failing. They are no where close to the quality of a Sailun.

Typical failure is either a sudden blowout or tread loss, usually with accompanied siding damage. TPMS does no good because the failure is immediate without warning.

And read through those 5-star reviews on E-trailer. Most have to do with the quick service and price of E trailer. Only a few talk about any longevity of the tire.

Westlakes, and their new rebranded Goodrides, are ticking time bombs just like the old Marathons. You might be one of the few lucky ones.

Thanks, thats what I needed to hear, I was hoping maybe these were going to be a rival to the Sailuns, it seems not. they sure are copying Sailun in looks ,and weight ratings 4080 on the 80's and 4400 on the 85's

I have been running the Sailuns going on three years now on my recently sold fifth wheel, this new one as said has the Westlakes. I have a trip maybe this summer depends on our situation going on with the pandemic .Its our annual six week trip to Montana, although not a lot of miles , its only a 600 mile round trip . I'll keep them on for that trip, then get them off ,and get some new Sailuns.

They are already over a year old ,they came off a new 2020 , that was actually built last April is what I was told. The manufacturing date on the tires are "0719" , thats about the third week in Feb 2019. So this time next year they will be over two years old. If I go to Arizona next winter ,still a wait to see at this point , I will have new tires on

[pkbridges77]

I could be a rep for Sailun, they have earned my trust by experience and evidence. I still can’t find a documented failure of a Sailun tire - even in road hazard and spring failures, the tire seems to hold together. And millions of miles for many years now in real world use. And, some are made in China, Vietnam, Thailand and Canada. Doesn’t seem to make a difference.

When it comes to our RV, I don’t really care where they are made. I want them to be reliable and one less area of concern when traveling. Sailuns do that for us. 55,000 miles on our first set of Gs, upgraded to Hs at our rally last summer, and 11,000 miles on those now. Zero problems.

Goodyear has plenty of failures on the G614 Gs and G114 Hs, but so far they seem to be good about reimbursing for damage to the trailer. Since we are fulltime, I wanted to avoid the damage to begin with so chose Sailun.

And for anyone interested, the outside diameter of the S637 G is almost identical to the S637 H, so you don’t have to worry about wheel spacing.

Safe travels!

[PSFORD99]

Originally Posted by pkbridges77

I could be a rep for Sailun, they have earned my trust by experience and evidence. I still can’t find a documented failure of a Sailun tire - even in road hazard and spring failures, the tire seems to hold together. And millions of miles for many years now in real world use. And, some are made in China, Vietnam, Thailand and Canada. Doesn’t seem to make a difference.

When it comes to our RV, I don’t really care where they are made. I want them to be reliable and one less area of concern when traveling. Sailuns do that for us. 55,000 miles on our first set of Gs, upgraded to Hs at our rally last summer, and 11,000 miles on those now. Zero problems.

Goodyear has plenty of failures on the G614 Gs and G114 Hs, but so far they seem to be good about reimbursing for damage to the trailer. Since we are fulltime, I wanted to avoid the damage to begin with so chose Sailun.

And for anyone interested, the outside diameter of the S637 G is almost identical to the S637 H, so you don’t have to worry about wheel spacing.

Safe travels!

You apparently missed my post on this forum last year around this time . I lost a Sailun S637 ST 235/85/16 , I considered it a road hazard. Don't know for certain ,was not a blowout , if so I never heard anything, they are usually pretty loud with 110 psi . Air pressure was checked that morning . I left Las Vegas and was 20 miles outside Kingman ,Az had went about 80 miles when it went. Ya ,all tires are subject to failure of some sort .

Search back on this forum , I posted the failure with pictures .

[pkbridges77]

Originally Posted by PSFORD99

You apparently missed my post on this forum last year around this time . I lost a Sailun S637 ST 235/85/16 , I considered it a road hazard. Don't know for certain ,was not a blowout , if so I never heard anything, they are usually pretty loud with 110 psi . Air pressure was checked that morning . I left Las Vegas and was 20 miles outside Kingman ,Az had went about 80 miles when it went. Ya ,all tires are subject to failure of some sort .

Search back on this forum , I posted the failure with pictures .

Actually, I do remember your post - didn't remember it was you. I followed your thread for quite some time thinking it may have been the first tire failure, but then remember I thought you had concluded it was probably a road hazard.

Should have been more clear in my statement - what I meant was a documented failure because of the tire, where there are many of those from Goodyear and other brands just through normal use and conscientious monitoring. That's what the Westlakes are doing - failing for no apparent reason.

Thanks for clarifying.

Paul

[MikeRP]

So I’ve heard the bad about Westlakes and was concerned when they came on my fifth wheel. But they have been ran on Cedar Creeks for sometime.

Last year during the summer I took several trips one the Key Largo from Ohio. I’ve been very impressed with the tires. The pressures during the summers would rise to about 125 psi. The temperatures would run 99 to 100 degrees. Of course they would heat up more when I stopped at a rest area but as soon as I got back on the road they would cool back to normal. I have about 6000 miles on these tires.

There have been very good ratings on the g rated westlakes.

[PSFORD99]

Originally Posted by MikeRP

So I’ve heard the bad about Westlakes and was concerned when they came on my fifth wheel. But they have been ran on Cedar Creeks for sometime.

Last year during the summer I took several trips one the Key Largo from Ohio. I’ve been very impressed with the tires. The pressures during the summers would rise to about 125 psi. The temperatures would run 99 to 100 degrees. Of course they would heat up more when I stopped at a rest area but as soon as I got back on the road they would cool back to normal. I have about 6000 miles on these tires.

There have been very good ratings on the g rated westlakes.

I have found some reviews such as yourself, just wish they didn't have such a poor reputation overall. I think the G rated have not been around that long or am I mistaken, if not then they may prove out . I do know most reviews I read were about the E rate Westlake RV tires.

Even back when in 2007 when I bought my 2008 Montana fifth wheel, they had those terrible China made E rated ST tires, the advice back then was don't push them any longer then a couple years if that. I think I ran mine for about 18 months ,and got rid of them. I hope these Westlake G rated prove out better.

What size are those Westlakes on your Cedar Creek the 80's or 85's

[CalandLinda]

Originally Posted by PSFORD99

I believe you are misinformed " All Steel Radial " is stamped on the sidewall of those Westlakes .In your first post you said the tire in question is not steel cased ,that appears not true .Unless steel cased is something different then what you are referring too .

The Westlake trailer tire web site does not describe the ST235/80R16H as being steel cased. That's why I said in an earlier post that you should read the materials listing on the actual sidewall to verify steel or polyester cording.

The following is the minimum description for a polyester tire. An all steel tire will have steel cording in it's sidewalls.

TREAD PLIES: 2 POLYESTER + 2 STEEL+1 POLYAMIDE
SIDEWALL PLIES: 2 POLYESTER

[MikeRP]

Originally Posted by PSFORD99

I have found some reviews such as yourself, just wish they didn't have such a poor reputation overall. I think the G rated have not been around that long or am I mistaken, if not then they may prove out . I do know most reviews I read were about the E rate Westlake RV tires.

Even back when in 2007 when I bought my 2008 Montana fifth wheel, they had those terrible China made E rated ST tires, the advice back then was don't push them any longer then a couple years if that. I think I ran mine for about 18 months ,and got rid of them. I hope these Westlake G rated prove out better.

What size are those Westlakes on your Cedar Creek the 80's or 85's

They are the ST235/85R16’s. Sticker says all steel tubeless 14 ply. I don’t have a URL to show you a pic. I have several pictures of them when they were brand new.

You all might wonder why I’m on here. I was down between a Montana and a Cedar Creek. The folks on here were very helpful in late 2018 when I made the decision. I ended up with the Creek because the factory allowed me to substitute In a booth dinette and Montana wouldn’t at the time. Really a fluke. Pricing was almost identical. I still follow both forums. Hopefully we all can get some camping in this year.

Blessings to everyone!

[CalandLinda]

Originally Posted by PSFORD99

I believe you are misinformed " All Steel Radial " is stamped on the sidewall of those Westlakes .In your first post you said the tire in question is not steel cased ,that appears not true .Unless steel cased is something different then what you are referring too .

The building materials listed on the tire sidewall will tell the story.

All steel 16" ST tires have a very similar tread pattern. It's another way to identify those steel cased tires.

[PSFORD99]

Originally Posted by CalandLinda

The building materials listed on the tire sidewall will tell the story.

All steel 16" ST tires have a very similar tread pattern. It's another way to identify those steel cased tires.

Attachment 5945

Thanks for the picture ,yes the tire in question is a steel cased tire, and looks almost identical to your picture.

Its unfortunate there is not more experience with this G rated Westlake on this forum, With the exception of MikeRP I was hoping to see more favorable reports.
I guess its time to go see how the Heartland ,and Cedar creek forums are dealing with these Westlakes , it appears they are a stock tire .

I have time to get a clear picture before I get rid of them. The same went on with the Sailuns , until it was proven they were quality tire. My big question with these Westlakes is how long has the G rated tire been on the market. Its apparent Westlake has been around for awhile ,especially the E rated .

[CalandLinda]

Originally Posted by PSFORD99

Thanks for the picture ,yes the tire in question is a steel cased tire, and looks almost identical to your picture.

Its unfortunate there is not more experience with this G rated Westlake on this forum, With the exception of MikeRP I was hoping to see more favorable reports.
I guess its time to go see how the Heartland ,and Cedar creek forums are dealing with these Westlakes , it appears they are a stock tire .

I have time to get a clear picture before I get rid of them. The same went on with the Sailuns , until it was proven they were quality tire. My big question with these Westlakes is how long has the G rated tire been on the market. Its apparent Westlake has been around for awhile ,especially the E rated .

Lionshead is the an OEM provider for Westlake tires.

http://lionsheadtireandwheel.com/Westlake-Radial-Tire

[PSFORD99]

Originally Posted by CalandLinda

Lionshead is the an OEM provider for Westlake tires.

http://lionsheadtireandwheel.com/Westlake-Radial-Tire

I saw your reply on the other thread, not sure it makes much difference which thread , but you told me the tire in question is not steel cased . The link you provided above is pretty old , it does not have the current weight rating of the 235/80/16 or the 235/85/16.

I'll try one more time with you.

The Westlake tire in question Has on the sidewall ,and I will quote :

"ALL STEEL RADIAL" , not sure what all steel radial means , but there it is

In addition it also states on the sidewall , and I will quote :

Plies: "Tread Steel 4" "Sidewall steel 1"

This is the exact writing on the Sailun S637 ST 235/85/16 , and I assume it would be the same as the Sailun S637 ST 235/80/16, but I do not have that tire in FRONT of me to see ,but I do on the other two. Now if they are not steel cased , I do not care . The Westlake , and Sailun are constructed with identical steel plies. We do know the quality of the Sailun, should be NO argument there .

If you want to provide a current link on Westlake tires ,feel free too , but the above is all wrong with the current Westlake G rated tires .

[pkbridges77]

I tried to copy/paste some of the pics of Westlake failures from our owner Facebook page with no success.

In two threads, I counted 11 different owners with Westlake failures, both G and H rated. No E’s. Damage to their rigs between $5,000 and $12,000, and in some cases the tire did not blow so never lost pressure. It just threw the tread.

Westlakes may be fine for a flatbed farm trailer, but if your rig is approaching 16,500 or heavier you are rolling the dice.

Since this thread is about Westlake tires, I really felt the need to get another side of the story out there besides the 5-star rating from E-Trailer. Thankfully, we all have choices.

[jsb5717]

Has anyone taken a look at Alliance RV, Paradigm 5th Wheel? They are a fairly new manufacturer started by the original founder of Heartland RV. Their startup timing is screwed up by this virus but they are claiming to build their units from years of experience and customer feedback. They seem focused on building a nice, medium priced, well-built rig.

All that to say that, given their focus, I was surprised to see they they are using Westlake Tires. Maybe they know something we don't...

[PSFORD99]

Originally Posted by pkbridges77

I tried to copy/paste some of the pics of Westlake failures from our owner Facebook page with no success.

In two threads, I counted 11 different owners with Westlake failures, both G and H rated. No E’s. Damage to their rigs between $5,000 and $12,000, and in some cases the tire did not blow so never lost pressure. It just threw the tread.

Westlakes may be fine for a flatbed farm trailer, but if your rig is approaching 16,500 or heavier you are rolling the dice.

Since this thread is about Westlake tires, I really felt the need to get another side of the story out there besides the 5-star rating from E-Trailer. Thankfully, we all have choices.

Thanks for the reply .I think I don't need to take the chance , although my fifth wheel is 15,500 GVWR , same as my previous one ,and it was loaded right at 13,500 . The dry weight on it was 11,800 which means nothing ,but a reference where the weight starts .

[CalandLinda]

Originally Posted by PSFORD99

I saw your reply on the other thread, not sure it makes much difference which thread , but you told me the tire in question is not steel cased . The link you provided above is pretty old , it does not have the current weight rating of the 235/80/16 or the 235/85/16.

I'll try one more time with you.

The Westlake tire in question Has on the sidewall ,and I will quote :

"ALL STEEL RADIAL" , not sure what all steel radial means , but there it is

In addition it also states on the sidewall , and I will quote :

Plies: "Tread Steel 4" "Sidewall steel 1"

This is the exact writing on the Sailun S637 ST 235/85/16 , and I assume it would be the same as the Sailun S637 ST 235/80/16, but I do not have that tire in FRONT of me to see ,but I do on the other two. Now if they are not steel cased , I do not care . The Westlake , and Sailun are constructed with identical steel plies. We do know the quality of the Sailun, should be NO argument there .

If you want to provide a current link on Westlake tires ,feel free too , but the above is all wrong with the current Westlake G rated tires .

You know tire brochure information is much like your trailer's brochure, not official. If you had studied the Lionshead link I provided, you would see they describe the Westlake ST235/85R16 LRG with a load capacity of 4080# at 110 PSI, which we both know is an error.

All steel redial is a marketing term. But you have finally read a sidewall and saw that the sidewall construction for the "All steel radial" has steel cords vice some kind of fabric.

Lionshead has not updated their link to describe the Westlake 16" LRG tires as all steel. Because I knew Lionshead to be the primary OEM provider of the Westlake tires I was quoting information from their link. Westlake does not publish a ST tire data book so the only other place to verify the actual construction of their ST tires is from the individual sidewall.

This a tire condition to be aware of when using all steel radial tires. It's called a zipper rupture and is very dangerous.

[jeffba]

Originally Posted by jsb5717

Has anyone taken a look at Alliance RV, Paradigm 5th Wheel? They are a fairly new manufacturer started by the original founder of Heartland RV. Their startup timing is screwed up by this virus but they are claiming to build their units from years of experience and customer feedback. They seem focused on building a nice, medium priced, well-built rig.

All that to say that, given their focus, I was surprised to see they they are using Westlake Tires. Maybe they know something we don't...

Heartland campers come with Westlakes. Maybe they are going with what they are used to using.